Your Place in Time

Overview

Step back in time and explore everyday technologies that shaped generations.

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About this Exhibit

Highlighting five generations that came of age in the 20th century, this exhibit presents each generation and the everyday technologies that shaped them. Immerse yourself in different eras and contemplate what it was like for each group as they came of age. Where is your place in America's past? What touching and once-familiar artifacts might you find here that stir memories of the social and cultural values that defined your own generation?

Highlights

Macintosh 512K Personal Computer, Model M0001W, 1985

In 1984, the Apple Macintosh became the first popular personal computer to feature the now-ubiquitous mouse and "graphical user interface" desktop. Despite the Mac's relatively high price, its user-friendly features helped it demystify computing for many people without a technical bent. This computer is a Macintosh 512k, released in 1985 with increased memory.

Lunchbox & Thermos, The Astronauts, 1969

The first pictorial lunchboxes, introduced in 1950, featured Hopalong Cassidy. Since then, generations of children have proudly sported pictorial images of their favorite interests on the sides of their school lunchboxes. The 1960s were an age of space exploration, beginning with the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik in 1957 through the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon in 1969.

More to Explore

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